


An Escape Plan

by IceboundEmu



Category: LoveLink (Video Game)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Mentions of Past/Historic Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:13:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27897370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceboundEmu/pseuds/IceboundEmu
Summary: Sam is trapped in his father's dream of what his life should be.MC is going to do something about that.
Relationships: Sam Knight/MC
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love Sam and believe he needs more love (and rescuing)
> 
> Warning for Roger just being his usual abusive, controlling self.

“Shush baby, don’t cry, we’ll work something out.”

Tightening your hold on Sam you could still feel him trembling under your grip, and his shoulders shook as he tried to muffle the sobs that shook his lithe frame. He’d turned up in the middle of a rainstorm, dressed as though he’d come straight from basketball practice (which on reflection was extremely likely, given his punishing schedule) soaked to the skin. He’d burst into tears almost as soon as you opened the door to him, half an hour later he was no closer to calming, though you had managed to get his head wrapped in a towel to stop his hair from dripping on his bare shoulders and convinced his to strip out of his damp clothes which were now drying on one of your radiators. In the absence of having a change of clothes you’d offered him one of your bathrobes, the fabric of which was soft against your skin as he snuggled closer seeking the comfort of the warmth you exuded.

To say the visit was unexpected was something of an understatement, your last conversation had ended on a fraught note, he’d told you to your face he was returning to a life he hated and had agreed never to see you again. Still, you’d tried not to take it too personally, reminding yourself his actions were overshadowed by the abuse his father had already inflicted on him to mould him into the clone he wanted. You’d been horrified when Sam had told you that his father dictated everything to do with his life including what he ate, wore and saw. It would have been impossible for Sam not to be affected by someone exerting such a control on his life up to this point, even as he’d taken his first stumbling steps towards freedom, you’d known his father wouldn’t give up without a hell of a battle.

Your fears had been proved right in that respect. His father had stepped in just when Sam was on the brink of realising his potential, destroyed any new-found self-confidence Sam had, and redirected him back to a life that was crushing the spirit from him. Apparently with the consent of his coach, who you’d have thought might have an interest in safeguarding his players. Instead, he’d colluded with Roger, forcing Sam to abandon the job he loved as well as you to make his sole focus the sport he loathed.

Still, you doubted that Sam turning up on your doorstep had featured in either of their plans for his future. Sam having a complete meltdown on you was also more comforting than the idea of him crying himself to sleep on his own.

“I’m so sorry! I can’t…I couldn’t…I wouldn’t”

Nor did your plans involve Sam tearing himself apart for being the victim in this. Gently tilting his chin up so he met your eye you pressed your lips against his in a brief, chaste kiss, silencing his attempts at whatever he was apologising for. You felt him respond against you, pulling back when he attempted to deepen the kiss, giving him a quick peck on the cheek as a look of puzzled hurt crossed his face.

“We need to plan what to do.”

You knew your time was limited, as soon as Roger realised that Sam was missing, he’d start looking and you doubted your own apartment was immune from his gaze. You’d be the first place he would start. So, your first move had to be to vanish yourself and get Sam somewhere he’d be able to take some time to think for himself. Leaving the country wouldn’t be an option, you doubted Sam had access to a passport, even crossing a state line would come with a risk that Roger would use his connections to get you arrested at the checkpoint. Still, you weren’t completely without friends in this neck of the woods.

“Plan? What for?”

Sam’s expression was now morphing to confused panic as your words sunk in. He’d probably just come to you for comfort, the idea of running from his problems, however short term, would likely cause him to react like a spooked horse. He was still far to under his father’s sway for you to hope he’d react in a rational manner, but you were unlikely to be able to restrain him on your own for long, you needed to increase the odds in your favour. You decided that half truths would probably be enough to keep Sam in place for now until you could get a helping hand.

“Roger is going to be mad if he realises you aren’t where you’re supposed to be. When are you next due at Basketball Practice or class?”

At the mention of his father his face twisted back to the guilt laced fear and you felt your own stomach twist in sympathy. He seemed to give it some serious thought, mentally running through his timetable till he found the answer.

“Not until nine tomorrow morning. Basketball, why?”

You checked your watch, noting it was six in the evening now. Fifteen hours was a nice cushion to disappear in.

“Not due anywhere tonight?”

It would be just your luck for his presence to be expected at a Fraternity Party or some other social event where his absence would be noted. To your relief he shook his head.

“No, just said I wanted to get some sleep after practice, so everyone will think I went back to my dorm room. Roger asked my roommate to move out. Said I didn’t need a distraction.”

Or someone to confide in, you mentally corrected. God you loathed that man. You looked up just in time to see Sam’s expression twist in distress and felt your heart lurch.

“What’s up?”

“I just realised I left my bag in the locker…my phone is in there. Roger will get mad if he texts and I don’t answer.”

He went to rise from the sofa, you held out your hand, so he bumped into it, applying gentle force to push him back down onto the sofa, where he gazed up at you with troubled steel grey eyes. Waiting for you to explain yourself.

“It’s still raining, and your clothes are wet. He’ll get mad if you make yourself ill running through rainstorms too. I’ll drive you over later, okay?”

He seemed to settle for that, sitting back and motioning with grabby hands that more hugging wouldn’t go amiss. You kissed his forehead, refraining from sitting down again because you needed to get away from him to set the wheels of your plan turning in motion. There was a text or two you needed to send from your burner phone.

“Where are you going?”

Sam’s question had a rising note of distress again, you felt bad about leaving him when he was in such a state but, you reminded yourself, he’d ultimately benefit from this, even though it probably wouldn’t feel like it for a while.

“Going to make a hot drink to warm you up, is hot chocolate okay?”

His eyes lit up at the prospect and you figured it was probably on Roger’s banned list of things Sam could indulge in. You decided to sweeten the deal further for him.

“I also have whipped cream and marshmallows?”

He looked a lot like a child on Christmas morning, nodding eagerly at the offer, moving to push himself off the sofa to follow you. He looked a little crestfallen when you motioned at him to stay put.

“I’m just going to be in the kitchen heating some milk. You stay there and get comfortable and warm, see if you can find something on television to watch?”

He settled again, pulling down the blanket you kept on the back of sofa to create himself a warm cocoon to settle in. He flipped through the channels until he settled on some crime drama, his attention temporarily diverted from you. Leaving the door to the kitchen propped open so you could keep an eye on him you retrieved your second phone from the drawer you kept it, switching it on and whilst you waited for it to load, measured the milk out into a pan and placed it on the stove to heat through.

Going back to the phone you scrolled through the contacts till you came to Crome, W. Loading up the text screen you dropped one of your oldest friends a quick message.

**William, need you over at the flat for a rescue mission. Bring your car, park in the Garage. Will explain when you get here.**

You didn’t have to wait long for a response. William started typing almost immediately after the message was sent.

**Need somewhere to stay for a while? I’m on my way.**

Satisfied that was done you checked on the milk, which hadn’t showed signs, yet, that it was beginning to boil, before scrolling to your next contact. Grant, J.

**Jamie, I may need you to help with some documents?**

**Send me what you need. I’ll get onto it.** **😊**

You could almost delude yourself that these boys had nothing better to do than wait for your messages, reality was you were lucky that both had responded so quickly. Even with little traffic William lived about an hour away, the more time you had the easier it would be to cover your tracks from the prying eyes that would be looking for you.

**I’ll let you know when I need them. Need to lie low for now.**

**Okay.**

Your conversations with Jamie were always characterised by his need to have the last word in the conversation. You switched the phone off and lifted the milk off the heat just as it decided to start climbing the walls of the pan. Leaving it on the side whilst you measured out the hot chocolate into mugs it settled back down again as it cooled slightly, before pouring the liquid in and watched the chocolate dissolve and colour the hot milk. Once you’d stirred it to make sure to solids had melted completely you carried them both back to the living room, placing them onto the coffee table, motioning at Sam to select his even as you turned back to the kitchen to grab the garnishes for your drinks.

When you got back (after stashing your phone away again) Sam had already started sipping at the drink. After adorning your drink with cream and marshmallows you pushed them in his direction, watching as he went to town with his decorating, swiping a few of the marshmallows as a pre-drink snack. Satisfied with his work he happily buried his nose into the drink, taking a mouthful of the hot liquid.

You settled back in your seat, waiting for a knock on the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing William to the mix (and a brief referral to Jaden).
> 
> In which the MC decides (possibly against their better judgement) that Sam's consent is needed before this plan proceeds any further.

“What did you do to him William?”

The expression on you face must have given William a hint of how furious you were, he backed away from you, hands held up in a pacifying gesture.

“He’s in a trance. He’ll be perfectly fine.”

Sam stood statue still, eyes glassy and unfocussed, staring blankly into the distance. You’d barely had time to let William into the flat and already he was causing mayhem (at least for you). You’d heard the frightened cry Sam had given as you were closing the front door, by the time you’d got back to the living room you’d found him in his current state.

“Why the fuck would you do that?”

“It’s a vampire trick. We use it when feeding. Call it a mercy, the victim isn’t aware of what’s happening, and they can’t feel fear, or hurt themselves trying to run away.”

“Okay, not quite what I was asking. Why did you do it to Sam?”

William rolled his eyes before continuing his explanation.

“Because that boy is the literal embodiment of fear. It’s coming off him in waves. So, I assume he’s the one you’re trying to rescue?”

You nodded.

“His dad is ruling his life. Sam’s going to follow the life he’s chosen whether Sam wants to or not.”

“Where do you see yourself in this?”

“Helping him chose what he wants for himself. He wants to sing William and his voice…”

You broke off as the memory of watching Sam sing in the coffee shop came back, you’d personally formed the opinion he had the voice of an angel, which most of the patrons seemed to have agreed with if the standing ovation had been anything to go by.

“So, he can sing, sure he’s not a siren?”

It was your turn for eye rolling.

“He’s as human as they come. No siren would treat their child like he’s been. His father tells him what to wear, what to eat, who he can speak to.”

That seemed to give William a pause for thought. He seemed to take care in how he phrased the next question.

“Do you truly believe where he is now, mentally, if you asked him, he’d follow you of his own free will?”

That stopped you in your tracks. You were sure you were gaping at William. Four hundred years of human experience had made William exceptionally good at stabbing at the heart of the matter with as few warning thrusts as possible.

“No, I would hope he’d chose me, but...”

You trailed off into unhappy silence, painfully aware that to an outside observer most of Sam’s actions to this point would be contrary to the path you were encouraging him down. He’d freely admitted early on in your conversations most people never got past the view he was a braggart, when he’d finally shown you his vulnerable side it had taken even more persuasion on your part to get him to admit he wasn’t happy with the direction his life was headed. When you’d found out the deeper reasons why you’d wondered how everyone else in his life seemed so oblivious to it. But then for most people he interacted with Sam’s misery kept their lives running smoothly, his father had his perfect clone following the life he’d planned for himself; his coach and team had their star player, the college had their full scholarship student to show how inclusive they were. Sam seemed resigned to sleepwalk through it all because somehow, he’d convinced himself that his own feelings on the matter were irrelevant.

“Then this is a mercy for him, when he wakes up again, he’ll have the space he needs to think without his father’s proximity distorting it.”

“Is it any better what we’re doing to him?”

Everything in Sam’s life had been decided without his consent, it didn’t sit well with you to be the latest person to tell Sam his opinion didn’t matter, that your judgement was what was best for him.

“So, what do you want to do?”

William would follow your instructions, you knew that. There was only one choice that would sit right with you, you knew that too.

“Bring him out of the trance. I have to ask him whether he wants to do this.”

William gave something that could have been a shrug and the life and animation drained back into Sam.

“What just happened?”

Sam blinked slowly as he looked at you, confusion clouding his features once again.

“Sam…I have a massively important question to ask you. This is William, he’s an old friend of mine. He’s got a place in the countryside we can stay in for a while, if you want to, so you can think about what YOU want to do with your life.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

There were times when you could quite happily hit Sam with something weighty. You heard William hiss in annoyance next to you and motioned at him to stay still.

“Because YOU deserve to be happy with your life Sam, not your Dad, not your Coach, or Team. You Sam. Turning up on my doorstep in tears because you hate the life, you’re stuck in is your mind reaching the limits of what you can mentally cope with. I want to help you Sam, but I can’t do it when you’re here. You need space, hell, a few continents between you so you feel safe enough to make a decision that’s best for YOU, because you’re all that matters in this!”

“But I can’t just…can I?”

You had to remind yourself Sam had never been given the chance to decide on what he wanted to do. So, he looked to you to give him permission to make a decision that anyone else would have made for themselves with ease.

Baby steps it was then, you couldn’t decide for him, but you could give him something less difficult to consider.

“Do you want to try?”

He nodded, and you enveloped him in another reassuring hug, privately thrilled that at last for now he’d chosen to remain at your side and not run screaming back to Roger. You felt him relax into your hold and not for the first time wondered how touch starved he was. It made your heart hurt to see how glad he was for the simplest of touches from you. 

You were drawn back to the here and now by William rather pointedly clearing his throat, and you both broke apart, cheeks flushed, having forgotten briefly he was standing in the room with you. Looking at Sam he had a similar rosy flush decorating his cheeks.

“You’re both adorable, but seriously, don’t we have better places to be?”

William’s voice positively dripped with sarcasm. You stuck your tongue out at him, earning yourself a sardonic smirk for your troubles, at which point you became aware of Sam studying your friend with a somewhat perplexed expression.

“Do you have fangs?”

“I’m a vampire. Of course, I have fangs.”

You’d expected Sam to freak out at this, instead he just looked excited.

“Do you sparkle in sunlight?”

William looked pained. You had to muffle your giggles as you heard his muttered curse at “that fucking movie” before he shook his head sharply in answer to Sam’s question. Looking up you saw the triumphant gleam in Sam’s eye that he’d managed to amuse you. William glanced between the two of you and seemed to decide you were co-conspirators in this and shooting both of you and evil look.

“Have you packed for this trip?”

William’s question was directed at you. When you shook your head, he sighed and motioned at you to get moving.

“I’ll talk Sam through the next steps, try to pack sensibly.”

You snagged a weekend bag from behind your sofa and headed to the kitchen first to grab what you needed from there.

*****

“What did you tell him?”

By the time you got back into the living room from your circuit of the flat Sam was back in the trance again, dressed in what he’d been wearing when he’d arrived at the flat and his hair, now mostly dry, bushed back into the approximation of his usual hairstyle. You’d returned your robe to the back of the bedroom door and dropped the damp towel into the laundry where it would fester until your return (unless you asked someone to drop in and clean up in your absence…you’d drop Jaden a text later and see whether he was up for a deep cleaning to remove evidence of Sam’s presence here).

“That’s he’d be travelling in the boot of the car, so this was the best way for him not to remember it. Got everything you need?”

When you nodded your assent, William picked Sam up without any obvious effort, carrying him, bridal style in the direction of the garage. Picking up your bag you followed him, making sure to lock the door behind you.


End file.
